>Philip Jenkins, an evangelical scholar and Professor of Religious Studies and History at Pennsylvania State University, speaking in San Diego to members of the Evangelical Theological Society, said that Africans understand the Old Testament better than Westerners do.
According to an article published by the Associated Baptist Press, Jenkins said that many things about life and practice in the Old Testament are difficult to convey to a contemporary Western audience.
The following is an excerpt from the article published by the Associated Baptist Press:
Cultures that espouse tribal identities and are intimately acquainted with animal sacrifice, dietary restrictions, polygamy, sacred rocks and the like are well-equipped to read and identify with the Hebrew Bible’s stories, Jenkins said.
“Teaching people [in the developing world] to obey the Bible if it means the Old Testament is not difficult,” he said. “In fact, for many of the new Christians in the world today the big problem is . telling people that the old law must be made subordinate, must be treated as inferior, to the new law.”
In Africa, Jenkins continued, Western missionaries often must convince people that the Old Testament is not the only or primary revelation of God’s work.
If Martin Luther hated it, he joked, it goes down great in Africa.
On the up side, Jenkins said, African and Asian tribes can easily recognize and understand aspects of the traditional religion of the Old Testament as shaping what they should practice in light of the New Testament. And they often understand those aspects better than Christians in the Western world.
In Western societies, many people have never seen an animal sacrifice or lived in an agricultural community. To them, such a way of life is foreign to their culture and difficult to understand. Thus, I believe that, to some extent, Jenkins in right. And this may explain the reason the church is growing in Africa and Latin America and it is stagnant in Europe and in the USA.
Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
Tags: Africa, Church, Philip Jenkins
Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament 
>Dr. Mariottini,Thanks for the post. Is it perhaps apparent that the Bible has been “westernized” through the lenses of western readers? Somewhat Scriptural reading is influenced through the eyes of one’s culture and history. I am asking, is there a proper way to read the Bible? Do Westerners understand Scripture better than the Africans, Asians, or Latin Americans? Blessings,Lou
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>Celucien,Thank you for your comment. The truth is, that many interpretations of the Bible reflect a Western bias because until recently, most Bible commentaries were written by Westerners. Another fact is that most of us read the Bible from our cultural and religious perspectives.A good way to understand the message of the Bible is by having a good knowledge of the culture of the people of the Bible. However, the message of God’s Word transcends culture because although many readers of the Bible may not know the culture of the people of the Bible, they are still able to hear God’s Word as they read the Bible.I hope you are doing well in your studies.Claude Mariottini
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>Thanks Dr. Mariottini for the comment. I am always both challenged and encouraged by your postsBlessings,Lou
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>Celucien,You are always welcome. I am happy that what a write serves to challenge and encourage you. I hope others feel the same.Claude Mariottini
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